Suing Alcatel dangerous for Telecom

Summary:The patriotic Kiwi in me would like to see our much maligned telco sue its French supplier Alcatel-Lucent as discussed in the media, but the evidence is that any such court case would be fraught with danger.

The patriotic Kiwi in me would like to see our much maligned telco sue its French supplier Alcatel-Lucent as discussed in the media, but the evidence is that any such court case would be fraught with danger.

"In the end, it's Telecom [to blame] because they build the network, they sign off, they put the money on the table. The buck stops with them. Full stop," Budde argued.

Of course, Reynolds has his denials, rejecting any skimping on XT or a premature launch, adding he has been "let down" by his supplier.

Certainly, with hindsight the inexperienced Alcatel-Lucent was obviously the wrong choice for Telecom, delivering the telco a most expensive pup for the XT network.

But it was a choice Telecom made, a decision it freely made under the most questionable circumstances.

Telecom has yet to publicly raise such a lawsuit. But if it were to bring such a claim, its case would have to overcome so many hurdles, as raised above, that such a battle could be a humiliating failure, with much embarrassing airing of dirty linen.

Darren Greenwood has been in journalism, not all of it IT, since the days of typewriters and long before the web spun its way around the world.Coming from Yorkshire, he can be blunt, and though having resided in New Zealand, as well as Australia, for quite some time, he insists he is not one of the 'sheeple!'